Exclusive NoQ Book Discount for My Readers

I was quite excited when I received an email from a representative of NoQ store.
NoQ Store is the e-commerce arm of Times Publishing, one of the most reputable names in printing, publishing, distribution and retail in the Asia Pacific.

They generously offered me a S$30 (approximately RM 75) coupon to shop at their store. In return, I'm writing this review for them.

They were also generous enough to offer a 15% discount exclusively for you, my blog readers. 

EXCLUSIVE 15% DISCOUNT:

Code: MAMASBAG
Valid from 11 August - 31 December 2014

My kids (especially my eldest daughter) were very excited. My daughter is always moaning "I have no more books to read". She is a true bookworm and tears through a book in a day, if not within hours. She knew exactly what book she wanted: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. My second son was clamoring for Beast Quest books. Unfortunately, there were not that many Beast Quest books but he did find 2 that he hadn't read yet. For the younger kids, I was happy to see a good choice of Berenstain Bears books. All my kids loved that series. I settled on the one titled "Computer Trouble". How appropriate and just what I need for my kids.

Well, I was happy to learn that shipping is free. However, this perk is only for those residing in West Malaysia.For East Malaysian customers, shipping is free with minimum spend of RM 120.

Ordering the books was no hassle. The difficult part was trying to limit the number of books to fit my budget. Hahahah.

The books took 13 days to arrive. It was a little longer than we wished for but I believe some of the books had to be sourced, hence the delay. No matter, the kids were thrilled. My daughter is almost finished with her book and gives it a thumbs up. I'm sure she'll ask me to read it.

Well, thanks NoQ for the chance to try out your store. It looks like they offer good deals quite often. Just today I received a notification that there's a special discount for Malaysians in honor of Merdeka Day. Malaysian customers get 20% off on their orders but this treat is for ONE DAY ONLY - 30 August 2014. Use code MALND2014 at checkout.

Big Discounts and Savings on Homeschool Curriculum: Build a Bundle Sale

If you want to save BIG on homeschool curriculum, this is your chance. The Build a Bundle Sale is FINALLY HERE!
It only lasts for 1 week, so you have to be quick.

There are homeschool curriculum from toddlers to high school. There's even some stuff for you, mom.

Just see how much money you can save.

Tot & Preschool Bundle - 83% Off
K-3rd Grade Bundle - 79% Off
4th-6th Grade Bundle - 82% Off
Middle School - 84% Off
High School - 82% Off
Charlotte Mason Bundle - 87% Off
Mom Bundle - 92% Off


The more you buy, the more you save.



BONUSES!
Not only have they slashed the prices down, the have plenty of bonuses to throw your way too.

So don't wait any longer, get your homeschool materials for the whole school year. You really don't want to miss this. Go there now!

BIGGEST digital homeschooling curriculum sale EVER!

The BIGGEST digital homeschooling curriculum sale EVER is coming! Mark your calendars! Save up to 92% on popular homeschooling curriculum! ONE WEEK ONLY - July 21-28, 2014! Click here to be reminded Enter to win $100 towards your bundle purchase What is the "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition Sale?

The "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition is designed to contain the best educational digital products on the internet! Sprinkled throughout the bundles are well known publishers, including products on Cathy Duffy's Top 100 list! Unlike overwhelming bundle sales with nearly a hundred ebooks, the "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition is a brand new concept that will allow homeschoolers to pick and choose what they want to purchase ~ all at a MASSIVE discount of up to 90% off!

Take a Sneek Peek at Our Bundles:

Tots & Preschoolers Bundle Teach your littlest ones about God's amazing creation and the value of virtue using our Tot & Preschool Bundle! This bundle gives you a complete Christ-centered preschool program, including age-appropriate character-building tools, a stick-figure Bible study, a creation-based coloring book, a handwriting curriculum, an independent activity guide (for those times when you need a moment to focus), and much more!

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade Bundle Teach your K-3 children basic skills and core truths through easily understandable lessons and hands-on activities. Our K-3 Bundle includes reading, math, science, handwriting, character training and Bible resources. Your children will experience life in 17th century America as they learn about the settlers and our 13 original colonies. You will have everything you need to savor these first days of discovery!

Elementary: 4-6th Bundle Your 4th-6th graders will develop foundational skills and gain insight into the ancient world using the comprehensive collection of resources found in our 4th-6th Grade Bundle. This bundle features both a science curriculum and a creative writing course from Cathy Duffy’s Top 100 picks. You will get a popular curriculum that has a blend of history, geography, and art. Also included: Math, Bible, handwriting and copywork resources, writing guides, timeline cards, ancient history notebooking pages, creative writing for both boys and girls, and an editable weekly homeschool planner for Mom!

Middle School Bundle Your middle school students will tour the classical world and develop academic excellence using our Middle School Bundle. This bundle features a full language arts curriculum and two science curricula, one from Cathy Duffy’s Top 100 picks, as well as a complete geography and history curriculum, a popular history timeline/book of centuries, Renaissance and Reformation notebooking pages, a classical music curriculum and famous composers notebooking pages, and a creative writing collection that even “non-writers” will love!

Bundle for High Schoolers Your high school students will develop academic mastery and intellectual maturity using our High School Bundle. This bundle features a New Testament Bible curriculum, an introduction to psychology, a full year of math curriculum, resources for world history and geography, philosophy, home economics, college prep, grammar, a creative writing collection that even "non-writers" will love, an anatomy science unit study from Cathy Duffy’s Top 100 picks, and more! You will receive enough materials for a full year of high school!

Charlotte Mason Bundle Amazing things await you in our Charlotte Mason Bundle! This bundle features a complete curriculum using the Charlotte Mason Methods for language arts, handwriting, and reading, a full geography curriculum, a plethora of resources for studying nature, artists, poetry, and a variety of "extras" just for mom! Learn all about Charlotte Mason and enjoy a special bonus (a $90 value all by itself) of great, classic audio books! This bundle is jam packed full of amazing resources your family will love!

Bundle Just for Moms! Save money, strengthen your marriage, and streamline your schedule using our Mom Bundle. Find the encouragement you need and the insight to speak to your child’s heart (even that difficult child!). Whip your home into shape and train your children to do their chores effectively using a popular book "chores program". This bundle brims with useful tools to help you bring calm to the chaos. Get them all for just $10!

"Build Your Own" Bundles Our "Build Your Own" bundles offer you the opportunity to select a certain number of products with a retail price of $19.99 or less for up to 80% off! We have MANY items to choose from, including Cathy Duffy Top 100 Picks! When you purchase a combination of any 2 "Build Your Own" bundles, you will get the 3rd one at 50% off!

*Lots of ways to save! When you purchase ANY 2 pre-assembled bundles you will get the 3rd pre-assembled bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off! When you purchase ANY 2 "build your own" bundles you will get the 3rd "build your own" bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off! When the sale goes live on July 21st, tell your friends about it using our referral system that will be found on the top of the website! When 10 of your referrals visit our site using your unique link, we will give you a code to save 10% off your total purchase! The image will look like this: Now, if you are like me, you might forget about the sale when it gets here! We are prepared to send you a reminder email. Click here and enter your email in the "Remind Me" box and you will get an email the day the sale goes live! Pre-Sale Promotional Giveaway - Enter to win $100 towards the purchase of ANY of our individual or "build your own" bundles! Winner annouced the day the sale starts! CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Learn To Spell Your Name Activity for Preschoolers

When teaching my kids the alphabets, I always like to start with letters from their name. That way, the first thing they can spell is their name.

Here is one activity I found that helps them spell their name. Have them arrange the letters of their name to form a snowman. I'm a bit lazy here and opted out of making snowman hats and a scarf. But if you want cuter snowmen, I'd encourage you to do that. I guess we could do the same thing and make caterpillars too.

Gluing and pasting is ideal when kids are still don't know how to write or are still struggling to control their pencil movements. My little girl here really enjoyed this activity. She wanted to do more. This helped her learn not only to put the letters of her name in the right order but also to put the alphabets the right way up.

Strengthening Basic Multiplication Skills in Children

Yesterday, as I presented my student with a worksheet of basic multiplication questions, she started to yawn (unintentionally, of course). I've been working with this kid for the past 2 months to really strengthen her multiplication skills. We've already worked on the individual times tables: 2 - 12. Unfortunately, I only see her 3x a weeks and I doubt she even looks at the multiplication tables the other days. BUT the only way any child is going to be an expert with basic multiplication is to practice, practice, practice everyday until they get it.

The problem is, how to make them practice without boring them out of their minds?

So, this is what we did yesterday... We created a game out of the multiplication grid.

She wrote in the ones that she absolutely knew... ones that she could answer in 2 seconds. The ones where she hesitated, we put a colored paper. So now, she can take home this game, and fill up the missing blanks with counters that show the correct answer. This way, she only practices the ones that she has been having problems remembering. It is sort of like 'target practice'.

So if you have a child that has already learned all the multiplication tables but are still struggling to remember certain ones, this is one way to target those troubled areas and have fun at the same time.

Brainzy: Making Computer Time Fun and Educational For Preschool to 1st Grade

I think many of us parents have a hard time controlling the number of hours our young children are on the computer. It is almost to the point of addiction... or is it just my kids? Every day I hear the same question, "Mom, can I use the computer?"
You can't really ban computer from their lives. So the next best thing would be to make sure they are using their computer time wisely.

Learning does not always equal "boring". Kids can play computer games and be learning at the same time. Brainzy is one such program.

Try a free trial of the Brainzy educational games program today!

This is a paid program. I know there are many free programs out there but not all of them are good quality. There is a free trial for Brainzy. Give it a try before you decide if it is worth your money. See if your children like the games. If they are having fun and you see learning taking place, you should consider adding Brainzy to your education resources.

Go check it out for yourself.



*This post contains affiliate links.

Awesome Worksheets That Make Learning Fun For Your Kids

I'm always looking for ways to make learning fun for my kids. I am currently homeschooling 1 child and have another 2 going to school. Unfortunately, teachers here are not very creative. The culture is such that kids are drilled to pass exams. My kids constantly tell me how boring their homework is.

I am not one to leave all the teaching to the school. I believe as a mother, I am still their number 1 teacher. And so I am always on the net, scouring for fun educational stuff for them. I can only hope to keep their love for learning alive.

So I'm here to tell you about a website that offers a variety of fun worksheets and workbooks...

Education.com provides printable workbooks to help children learn key skills in math, reading and writing. These workbooks are suitable for children in preschool through fifth grade.

New Workbooks on Education.com!

I've downloaded quite a few from their website. If you are seeking fun worksheets for your kids, I encourage you to check out this website. You can download some for free but there is a limit every month. If you want to enjoy the full privileges, there is a fee to pay. They offer a subscription service that grants access to all workbooks. The quality of worksheets you get makes it pretty worth it.

Have a look and tell me if this resource will help in your child's education.

Save 20% by signing up for a Education.com PLUS subscription AND get unlimited workbook downloads!



Here are some of the products available:


Ready to crunch some numbers? This workbook will help your child review numbers and counting, and introduce your little learner to number sequences, order and grouping.


Explore the parts of a plant and the stages of life it goes through. Then try your hand at germinating seeds as you introduce your little bud to important plant processes like photosynthesis.


These worksheets will strengthen your fourth grader's writing conventions and sentence construction, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.


What's a metaphor? How do you haiku? Kids will hone reading and writing skills with this book, from a simple syllable counting exercise to inventing rhymes and tangling with the Jabberwocky!


 *This post contains affiliate links. 

Frozen Fans Will Love Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll

My 4 year old daughter can't get enough of the movie Frozen. I have to admit, I truly enjoyed the movie too and the songs are now stuck in our heads.



This Disney 3D animated musical takes place in an imaginary land called Arendelle. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's chilly Nordic-based classic The Snow Queen, Frozen is centered around sisters Anna and Elsa, daughters of the King and Queen of Arendelle. While one sister (Elsa) stays isolated filled with fear, the other sister (Anna) is bursting with energy and life. A real contrast in character. This Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll delivers the younger of the two sisters in faithful detail. Let's step inside the frozen fantasy environment of Arendelle and take a closer look at young Anna.

Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll

Key Features

• Based on a character from the hit Disney animated film Frozen
• Anna is the younger of the two sisters, the main characters in the film
• Anna's gown from the movie is re-created with pink swirls, sparkles and flowers
• Bright blue skirt also included, bearing traditional Norwegian design

Why is the Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll a Smart Buy?

If you have a little girl that is a Frozen fan and especially loves Princess Anna, you can be sure that the Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll will be a good gift choice.

Get the best price over at Amazon.

Imaginary play helps keep your child's imagination alive. With this doll, your little girl can have fun re-creating those movie moments with this detailed Disney doll.


In the movie, the removable skirt, multicolored bodice, black snow boots and pink cape that Anna wears are all beautifully detailed in the girl-friendly colors of pink and light blue. They have been wonderfully re-created on this Disney doll, as well as Norwegian designs complete with rosemaling present on the skirt. And the many sparkles seen on the film character's Anna are here as well.

This doll will bring the movie character to life for your little princess. The attention to detail includes molded lace features on the black snow boots, as well as the familiar freckles on Anna's face and pink tiara.



The Disney Frozen Sparkle Anna of Arendelle Doll is definitely a must-have for the Disney Princess lover, Disney collector and the gift buyer looking for an extremely attractive retail price tag. The big-screen Anna character is faithfully reproduced, and Disney has also re-created Anna's wintry home in the Disney Frozen Castle & Ice Palace Playset.



Whether just purchasing Anna, or including her sister Elsa and the Disney Playset, your little girl will busy enjoying herself and making up her own imaginary stories with these wonderful Disney toys.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

My son just had a birthday. Of course there must be a cake. Some of the kids were asking for ice cream cake. Buying one is quite expensive. So, once again, I had to turn to Mr. Google to see if I could make one myself. This is what I came up with at the end: Oreo Ice Cream Cake.

It's pretty easy to make and the kids (plus friends) gave it a thumbs up.

Here's how I did it:

1. Baked a Lemon Cake. Of course I didn't do it from scratch. Just got a box of the shelves (Pillsbury). Most people use chocolate cake but the tangy lemon really blended nicely with my fudge topping.

2. Slice the cake into 2 layers so you can sandwich the ice cream in between. Put one layer at the bottom of your cake tray.

3. Crush a packet of Oreos. If you want more Oreos, just crush more. Mix it with your choice of ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate or Cookies N Cream flavor works well.

4. The ice cream has to be a little bit soft. Scoop out the ice cream and make a layer on top of the cake.

5. Put another layer of cake on top of the ice cream. Put back in the freezer so the ice cream hardens up.

6. Meanwhile, make some chocolate hot fudge . You can find a recipe that you like but I used this recepi:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 tbs butter

7. Pour the chocolate hot fudge on top of the cake layer. Return the cake to the freezer.

8. Just before you serve the cake, top off the cake with swirls of whip cream. Add a little bit more crushed Oreos to that.

I hope my directions make sense. You're basically just putting one layer on top of another. Modify to your liking.

Leave a comment to tell me what you think.